Chapter 12 cool dance moves

After the new policemen got off work, they drove along the narrow road that crossed the Burren Plateau.He drove slowly, partly because he didn't like driving and hadn't driven in a long time, and partly because he was looking for something.He didn't quite know what it looked like, but he knew, at least he hoped, that he would recognize it immediately when he saw it. He parked his car on the side of the road so that other cars could overtake him.Originally, overtaking did not require such a wide road, but Larry felt it would be safer this way.Later, he felt that since parking here is very convenient, he might as well go out for a walk.He climbed the nearest wall, wandered over rock piles, avoided dangerous cracks, and jumped from one flagstone to another.As he walked, he wondered if it would be appropriate to go to Green's Bar at night, and he could fully imagine the reaction of Officer Early and Trish to this incident.Fortunately, he was off work, and as far as he knew, there was no law that prohibited him from going to the local bar after get off work.

He turned left and climbed a hill.As we climbed to the top, a majestic vista unfolded before our eyes: a continuous stretch of gray mountains that stretched into the distance and disappeared on the horizon.In the sky, the golden sunset is setting.This situation made him homesick, and it also reminded him of the thing he was looking for, like looking for a needle in a pile of hay.No, it cannot be compared to a needle in a haystack, it is much more than a needle. Time flies by, too fast indeed. Gigi is very curious about what Helen has to say, but also terrified at the same time. "Let's have a cup of tea," said Helen.

Tea was the motivation and placebo for their family.On busy days, they take every opportunity to drink tea.In winter, they light the stove in the kitchen, and put a pot of water on it, which is hot, so that they can drink tea at any time.It wasn't very cold today, so there was no need to burn the stove, but the living room was often a bit humid, so when Helen plugged in the electric kettle to boil water for tea, Gigi burned a few coals in the fireplace.Then, while Helen wasn't paying attention, he quietly took off the phone.Mary arranged to spend the night at a friend's house after practice, and Hillary would immediately go to Galway to attend a meeting of the local anti-war group after dropping Marianne there.Gigi and Mom would have a chance to talk quietly if there were no phone calls to interrupt.

It was completely dark.In the flickering light of the fireplace, Gigi drew down the curtains, and Helen rummaged around in the cabinet next to the piano.Finally, she came over with a big old brown envelope.While Gigi made her tea, she examined the contents.Gigi handed her a cup of tea, and at the same time she showed Gigi a black-and-white photo with rolled-up edges, and pulled the chair closer to Gigi, leaning against him, and she will tell her children about this photo today History. The background of the photo is the house the Liddys now live in, which was then fairly new and on a larger scale than the average Irish farmhouse.At that time, the Liddy family was very influential, of course the situation has changed now.In front of the house stood seven persons: three men, a woman, and three children, one of whom was a girl and the other two were boys.Each is holding a musical instrument and has a dignified, even serious expression.There was nothing unusual about this photo compared to old ones Gigi had seen.

"The picture was taken in 1936," said Helen. "The woman with the violin is my grandmother, your great-grandmother. The one with the bagpipes is Garrett Barry." "Garrett Barry?" Gigi knew Claire's legendary blind piper very well.Garrett Barry's jig was one of his first lessons.He spent a whole summer preparing this piece, used it as a competition track, and later won an award. "He's a great friend of the Liddys," said Helen, "and comes here a lot." "You never told me before," Gigi said. Without explaining, Helen pointed to another man in the photo and said, "This is your great-grandfather. He made that flute from the spokes of a carriage."

"Are you sure?" "I can swear to God," said Helen. Gigi brought the photo closer to the firelight to get a better look at the instrument.The focus of the photo is very accurate, but the characters in it are too far away from the camera, and their faces cannot be seen clearly.But it can be seen that the flute is plain and without any decoration, and if there are seams on it, it can't be seen. "My grandfather was not famous for making musical instruments," Helen went on, "but he did make some flutes and whistles while he was alive. Michelle Russell once told me that he played a whistle my grandfather made, I like it so much that I almost bought it. However, among the musical instruments my grandfather made, that flute is the best. He is very obsessed with it, and he can play it endlessly. He takes it everywhere. It is said that because he is afraid of losing the flute Yes, and he had his name etched on the top."

"What happened then?" Jiji asked. "Where is that flute now?" "That's the story I'm going to tell. It's a sad story and you can understand why the music and the name Liddy means so much to me." Helen refilled the teacup with water, then leaned on the back of the chair, and said slowly: "A long time ago, dances were often held in this house. From the day when music was produced, the Liddy family has been musicians. You Think learning music is easy, don't you? You see music as a good way to pass the time, and it's more than that. On the Fuwa T x `T novel download` website w W w.`F v`a L .c `n "is opposed to playing dance music."

"Who?" Gigi asked. "Powerful people." Helen replied, "Priest." "What? You said the priest—" "Yes, they, and the bishop above them, and the cardinal above the bishop." "why?" "That's a hard question to answer. Obviously, dancing is a good social activity, where young people from the parish and other parishes get together, where men and women get to know each other. I guess it's like in discotheques and Like a club, everyone gets a drink and behaves a little more casually, so the priest decided the dance would be indecent."

"People still have the same prejudice against discos and clubs these days," Gigi said.He wanted to plant a foreshadowing here, because he didn't know if it was time to tell Mom about the club. "People do think that," Helen said. "From what they've said, I think they're right. What happens in those places worries every parent." Gigi's foreshadowing failed.Helen reached out and took a few more coals and put them into the fire, sparking a few sparks. "But there is a second reason why priests, at least some priests, hate our music. That is: Irish people — most Irish people — have been Catholic for hundreds of years, and priests have exercised their power over our lives and our music. Faith, but it's not that simple."

"It's never that simple," Gigi said. "Indeed," said Helen, "there are older and more primitive religions in Ireland, older than Catholicism. They are thousands of years old, not just a few years old." Hundreds of thousands of years ago, they still exist in some corners of our lives." "Like what?" Gigi asked curiously. "For example, the myths of the elves," Helen said, "and the legends and superstitions that arose from them." "But these things have nothing to do with our lives," Gigi said. "Nobody believes these things anymore."

Helen shrugged: "Maybe. But do you remember what Anne Kulff said today? Those words about those castles. Why don't the farmers want to burn the castles to the ground?" "They're monuments to history, aren't they?" "Probably," said Helen, "but I can't be sure. The castle on our highest meadow isn't registered, so it doesn't have any legal protection. Well, if you take over the farm, you'll demolish it." Is it flat land?" Gigi thought about it and felt that she would not do this.Somewhere deep down, he was as superstitious about the castle as his mother was, as was his grandmother and great-grandmother.He shook his head. "You won't," said Helen, "though you don't believe in those myths. You know, my mother believed in them very much, and my grandparents' generation also believed in them. People can still see elves, or they Thinking they saw it, many claimed to have heard the music of the elves." "That's crazy talk," Gigi said. "Maybe," Helen said, "or maybe not. On this point, the priest agrees with you. To them, these beliefs are not only crazy, but dangerous and reactionary. But no matter how hard they try or intimidate, they cannot Erase old beliefs from people's minds. The Irishman and the Irish mythology are hard to change. Hearsay or not, it's a firm belief that our music - jigs, hornpipes and pas de deux, and slow songs - It was taught to us by the elves." Gigi felt a chill down her spine.It wasn't the first time he heard these old things, but it was the first time he was shocked by them. "So," continued Helen, "the priests cannot trample on our worship of the elves. They have tried many times and failed. But there is one thing they can destroy, and that is music. If they succeed, people will be able to live with them." Have the same faith too. "Not all priests hold this view. Some priests tolerate the ancient traditions, and some even play our music. However, some priests do not. Whenever they find concerts and dances, they barge in. Muck up, mess up the music in every way possible. And in 1935 they had a new weapon to their advantage - the Public Dance Hall Act." Gigi doesn't have much interest in these things, and the history is more complicated than school work. "What does this have to do with your grandfather?" he asked. "I was going to tell," said Helen, "that the dances were pretty much the same as we are now. They were held at home, or sometimes at the crossroads in the summer. People bought tickets to attend, including drinks and a band. Fees. Prom planners can make some money out of it, but our family dances have never been for money. The government, under pressure from the church, passed this bill outlawing house dances. Since then, all dances have to be held in It was held in a parish hall where the priest could watch. It worked because it didn’t take long for other forms of music to catch on and traditional music almost lost its audience.” "But people can still play traditional music in small bars or in their own homes." "It does, but it feels completely different. You know, it's like you're playing music and a whole bunch of people are sitting there chatting. I don't like that, never did. Traditional music has always been Dance music, Gigi, that's why I put you and Maz on dance, it helps you understand music more deeply even if you don't dance." Gigi nodded.He's been to many traditional Irish festivals and has heard so many people playing that it's easy to tell if they know how to dance. "Anyway," Helen went on, "it has had the effect of bringing the family dance to the brink of extinction. It was possible to have a dance, though, if there was no charge. But there were few 'duo nicer' books in those days." At Fuwa T x `T novel download` station w W w.`F v`a L .c `n "can afford the expense." "Liddy can do it," Gigi said. "Yes, we could afford it. We weren't rich by today's standards, but we were doing pretty well back then. We had one advantage over everyone else: we didn't have to pay the band because we could play it ourselves .”